HG101 2022 Game FAIL Challenge

[Apollo Chungus]

Shaun White Skateboarding (Xbox 360; First Time; Gave up after a helicopter chase)

I popped into the local CeX and grabbed a couple of games that interested me, this and Burnout 3: Takedown. I faintly remember hearing something about this from a YouTube video some years ago that made me curious to give it a shot, though I can't remember what that was. But at first, things seem pretty cool: it's a skateboarding title where performing tricks restores colour and life to a bland totalitarian city dominated by lifeless oppressive grey. Pulling off enough tricks builds a meter that increases the radius of your impact and even transforms objects into ramps, grindable rails and other objects to help you move about. There's a cool concept here, and one that's pushed fairly well by a decent soundtrack and an earnest if somewhat cringeworthy tone.

However, the main problem emerges in how pants the controls are. The game controls somewhat like Skate in terms of weight, slowness and general difficulty in terms of actually moving around, but often demands something closer to Tony Hawk when it comes to navigation and completing tasks. These two elements don't go well together, and it makes just the sheer act of trying to reach a goal or pull off a move such an enormous pain the butt. This is made even worse by the fact that there's no predictable way of gaining speed and momentum is lost very easily, so trying to grind long rails and the like is needlessly difficult. I got stuck on a mission where I had to make my way through a loop three times, and I spent ten minutes trying and failing to create the speed needed to make it through the third time.

It is goddamn agonizing, and I can't look up any walkthroughs to help me out because this is a surprisingly obscure game. Given the naffness of the controls, I'm not surprised. At best, the game's got a decently addictive flair, but it's too often dragged down and made miserable by those controls. I've not been so instinctively annoyed at a game in a long time. Feck me.

[dsparil]

There is what seems to be a full play on YouTube so maybe that'd help?

Not surprised that a Shaun White skateboarding game would be obscure since it's safe to say he's known more as a snowboarder despite doing both. There's also a snowboarding counterpart so maybe it was in the licensing contract that both would be made and less effort got put into this one.

[Apollo Chungus]

When I said walkthroughs, what I meant was an FAQ or a guide or something to help me figure out how to gain speed or momentum. Watching a YouTube walkthrough doesn't really help because while I can the results of the steps taken, I want to know what the steps are. Honestly, watching the mission I'm stuck on made me adamant not to give it another shot because they're struggling for a time with the same issue as I am.

For whatever reason, I legitimately cannot stand when moving around in a game is clumsy and awkward when they're expecting so much more out of you; it triggers that same sense of sensory overload I suffer from when I'm stuck in a physically cumbersome situation made worse by a mix of personal anxiety/lack of confidence and outside forces like other people suddenly intruding and making things much worse. I just get overwhelemed and nope the fuck out as quickly as possible, and this is all that mission and the game's controls induce from me.

I really do appreciate you posting the walkthrough, but I don't think I can honestly bear to give it another shot in case I get stuck at some other nonsense down the line. Thank you all the same, though.

[spanky]

S.C.A.T. (NES via NSO, First Time)

Unfortunate name aside, this is a pretty good Forgotten Worlds style shooter for the NES. Instead of rotating your character, you have two options that rotate around your character automatically and you can strategically lock them into place by pressing A. I do wish there was a way to lock your fighter into place so they don't always turn around when you try to move backwards. The options are supposed to cover this but they can be a bit cumbersome to get into place especially when the screen is filled with enemies. The two playable characters are identical from a gameplay perspective but are very blatantly supposed to be Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sigourney Weaver (even sharing the same first names!)

Also, instead of one hit killing you, you have a (fairly generous) life bar. One hit deaths are usually what scare me away from most SHMUP type games, so this is a welcome feature. Even still, the game gets quite tough in the second half. You do have infinite continues but I started to lose my patience at the very end (damned rebounding lasers) and used the rewind feature twice.

People gripe about the NSO retro game selection but I always like being able to pick up something random, play it for 10-15 minutes, save my spot then pick it up again when I have more free time. Nothing special, but fun. 7/10.

[Apollo Chungus]

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (3DS; First Time; Gave up at Pop-Up Prairie Town)

I'd always been fairly curious about trying Captain Toad ever since I played the 3DS demo some years. I grabbed it the other day and played through a fair few stages; it's quite the good game with some neat navigational puzzles and plenty of secrets to keep you digging around the stages. I even dug how the gem requirements to unlock further stages only ask you get half or less of the total gems you can grab at that point, encouraging to delve a little bit into finding those secrets but not so much that it becomes tedious.

Unfortunately, my playthrough came to a screeching halt with the level Pop-Up Prairie Town, which introduces these propeller platforms that can only be moved around by blowing into the 3DS' microphone. This already sucks when it doesn't provide other alternatives like using the touchscreen or a button (which it had done for moving the camera), but made even worse by the fact that I had the 3DS XL - a system with an impossibly tiny microphone slit that can barely be seen by human eyes, and one that I couldn't register no matter how hard I blew into it. This was only the 14th stage out of (what I realized was 70+), and if that platform was going to keep appearing in more complex variations, I knew I wouldn't be able to hack it.

Any system-exclusive gimmicks that are suddenly required to solve puzzles in games where that isn't the norm can push off; these propeller puzzles, the tilting puzzle from Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask. All of them are always an unwelcome intrusion that alienates players who aren't in the 100% optimal scenario for playing them mechanically, physically and mentally, and the designers responsible can have cold pasta stuffed down their trousers for not allowing alternatives.

[🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀]

Apr 16, 2022 7:50:21 GMT -5 Apollo Chungus said:

Unfortunately, my playthrough came to a screeching halt with the level Pop-Up Prairie Town, which introduces these propeller platforms that can only be moved around by blowing into the 3DS' microphone. This already sucks when it doesn't provide other alternatives like using the touchscreen or a button (which it had done for moving the camera), but made even worse by the fact that I had the 3DS XL - a system with an impossibly tiny microphone slit that can barely be seen by human eyes, and one that I couldn't register no matter how hard I blew into it.

In my experience the DS and 3DS families' microphones work best if you don't blow in them hard. As a kid I used to get up real close and blow in the mic of the DS Lite as hard as I could and it would never work well. I feel these days they're a bit less iffy than back on the DS Lite, but I still find a gentle blow works best. Does recording audio work correctly (not that that proves everything, since even an inaudibly soft blow can still get picked up)? If it doesn't register anything at all during gameplay it's broken for sure though, as from my experience it should register a bit even when blowing too hard. The small size shouldn't matter either, as long as you're blowing vaguely in the general direction it'll pick it up.

Any system-exclusive gimmicks that are suddenly required to solve puzzles in games where that isn't the norm can push off; these propeller puzzles, the tilting puzzle from Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask. All of them are always an unwelcome intrusion that alienates players who aren't in the 100% optimal scenario for playing them mechanically, physically and mentally, and the designers responsible can have cold pasta stuffed down their trousers for not allowing alternatives.

I don't see what the problem is honestly. There's also tons of other stuff that some people won't be able to do in games. It can suck for preservation purposes I guess, but I don't see what's so especially bad about a game using the mic.

[excelsior]

I agree with only parts of both of the posts of Apollo Chungus and 🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀 on the issue. Nintendo kind of surprise me as a company for whom one of their goals is to make games for a variety of demographics and do a great job most of the time of offering content that appeals to people across age and gender yet when it comes to options in accessibility aren't where they should be. This is the issue when it comes to Nintendo and their controls, not preservation but accessibility. That they come up with what they think is the optimal or most enjoyable way to play a game or include a variety of new ideas as to how to interact with software if great, but not allowing recalibration of controls continues to be a disappointment. It's true there will always be games people won't be able to interact with in some ways, but why not offer solutions when they are easy? There are games such as Wii Sports where the control method is fundamental to the product. Not much you can do there. Offering a recalibration of blow to a button or even vice versa is easy to offer, Nintendo just hasn't shown willing to break away from their perception of how their software should be played.

On the other hand though specifying the argument as one for control aspects that 'aren't the norm' takes the assumption that a standard controller is the optimal way to play for everyone and not subject to challenges and new innovations. This is not true. There are plenty of people for whom the standard layout and interactions needed for a traditional controller are a barrier to entry, either in it's entirety or just certain aspects of the design. Speaking for myself I have difficulty with a traditional analogue stick. There are things that can be done to enhance the stick design as some are easier to use for me than others but conversely to the above argument the motion and gyro controls prevalent in Nintendo's control schemes enable me to play various games at the expected level where I otherwise would not. I can't possibly be the only one. Yet, we don't see many arguments of accessibility issues on developers who don't embrace motion controls or other innovations that may allow more players to access their software. It seems to me that as much as we can argue that Nintendo should offer alternative controls for accessibility reasons through recalibration we should equally be pushing for non-traditional alternatives from others.

[🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀]

Nintendo is a bit weird like that. They had things where you could skip stages back in the Wii ere in NSMBWii and DKC Returns, but it took them until a year or so in the Switch's lifespan to add button mapping. And even then, I recently found you can't remap the GCN controller so that's not even perfect.

Of course, it would've taken very little effort, and not really have a negative impact on the game, to offer a different way of using those platforms besides using the mic. But in that case, there are tons and tons of things that a person might not be able to do and that don't offer any alternatives, and not just in Nintendo's games. If anything, blowing in the mic is something more people will be able to do properly than mashing buttons or using a lot of buttons at once, just to name something. Any number of things can be something someone gets stuck on. I mean, if your mic's broken you won't be able to do it of course, but then you might as well argue games shouldn't use the L button because the L button can break.

And yeah, it's a shame that gyro controls barely get praised. Even not taking the accessability benefits into account, there's no reason for a console shooter not to include gyro controls as it just vastly improves aiming precision. Unfortunately there's a loud minority that hasn't taken the time to properly get used to them and lumps it in with Wii-era waggle.

[Apollo Chungus]

🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀 excelsior Actually, I never really clarified what I meant by "the norm". I wasn't referring to motion controls specifically (though that can happen with it), but the default state of inputs and responses that the game trains you to expect and understand. The norm in Wii Sports would be using the motion controls, or using the stylus for everything in the DS Zelda titles. It sucks that there aren't alternatives for some of these games, but every control input is unsuitable for somebody and that's just how games operate in general (I suck at mouse and keyboard even for really simple stuff).

My problem is when a game goes on for long enough that you feel comfortable with certain responses or inputs, and then suddenly throws a curveball by demanding you use a mechanic you're completely unfamiliar with or untrained for. Whether it's the gyro puzzle in Miracle Mask, the sudden shmup final boss in Fairune, or anything else - it's the gaming equivalent of taking a history class and suddenly having a Pythagorean math conundrum in your final exam that will heavily impact your score. It's pretty damn unfair against the player to throw such a curveball like that, and that's why I'm so damn disdainful towards the sudden introduction of out-of-nowhere mechanics or inputs with the expectation that "eh, you'll know what to do and we'll not give you any options".

I meant to say this hours ago, but my shite internet failed to upload the post and it was lost because I was writing it as a quick reply. I have no grudge against motion controls, gyro or anything of the sort, and I shouldn't have singled them out in particular because this can (and does with irritating frequency) happen in any game regardless of that. I apologize for not clarifying that in my original post.

[excelsior]

Apollo Chungus - Apologies for the misinterpretation and the tangent then and thanks for clarifying your post.

[Apollo Chungus]

This is a rather unfortunate trio of otherwise good games (two of them very good, actually) which I just couldn't hack after a while because they're not for me right now. Perhaps not in general, but definitely at the moment.

Burnout 3: Takedown (PS2; First Time; Gave up around the Europe section of World Tour)

I haven't played a Burnout game since Revenge back in 2007 and I was really curious to check out Takedown, often considered the best one and something of a legendary racing game of the 00s. Having played it, I can totally understand why. Blitzing through various landscapes at blazing speeds, making wide drifts that would make OutRun 2 proud, taking down other drivers and using that to gain some extra boost to win the race - there's really nothing like this game specifically. It is the epitome of "go hard and go home", and man does it go hard.

But, it is a very intense game, and if you can't get on board with it or are even mildly clumsy, it is heartbreakingly infuriating. Racers are aggressive, goals are really demanding if you want to get anything higher than bronze, the burning lap events demand perfection, getting taken down takes ages to recover from; it's a very difficult game. That is meant to encourage better play and make those times of coming out on top all the sweeter, but it's tempered badly by some unclear communication (camera doesn't help you see what's overhills, sunlight glints off roads, and cars easily blend into other colours).

That difficulty resulted in me becoming progressively more annoyed with how often I was crashing, having to deal with guff that honestly seems too unfair considering my inherent clumsiness, and not having options to make things less intense without provoking some degree of sensory overload or frustration. By the end, I got absolutely fed up. I knew that I'd yet to tackle the Far East tracks, and those were surely going to be even worse because all video games must apparently get harder. So I packed it in. Sadly, there's no cheat codes so I can't even unlock the events or tracks I want to play. Damn, that sucks.

Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime (DS; First Time; Gave up at Tootinschleiman's Tomb)

For years, whenever I'd heard about this game, I always assumed it was purely a top-down action-RPG type game where you bounce around as a slime and go on adventures. I never knew it was going to chuck in item management and tank battles where you have to run around gathering items, throwing them into cannons to stop bullets and make hits, and guard your tank from randos trying to blow things up from within before you head on over to destroy the literal heart of the enemy tank. It's a lot to juggle, and it's honestly way too damn frantic for me considering how clumsy and chaotic it inherently is.

It's very funny seeing typical Dragon Quest stuff in this new context of talking monsters (even slimes have churches to pray to the Goddess), but it's also very not for me.

Spiritfarer (Switch; First Time; Gave up at some point after completing Gwen's questline)

Man, this one bites something fierce. I remember seeing this at E3 a few years ago and really liking both the artstyle and the bittersweet, cozy vibes of what was being suggested. You're essentially a guide who takes spirits of the dead, keeps them comfortable and gives them the time they need to do what they must before you spirit them away to the next world. This plays out as a management game, where you do quests to help those spirits, craft items to build houses and materials for them, sail off to distant lands to find more things and quests. It's all presented with a beautiful artstyle, and I'm particularly impressed with how every character is given frame-by-frame animation as opposed to using sprites or tweened animation. Makes for a very tangible kind of game.

However, despite how relaxed and cozy it's meant to be, I found myself constantly under pressure to get things done. I was rushing back and forth between building things, talking to the spirits and giving them food/hugs, sailing to islands, growing plants, picking up things, doing quests, and what felt like a billion other things. I honestly got scared to death of even approaching the game, because having that feeling of needing to juggle too many tasks without having the space to just breathe reminds me too much of my actual life at the moment.

I don't believe in video games as a form of escapism (I don't really believe in escapism as a concept, since you can never truly escape your situation or reality), but I certainly don't want to experience the emotions that make me feel anxious and overwhelmed to an unbearable degree when that happens plenty enough as is.

[alexmate]

XIII (PC)

Put in nearly 3 hours can't get past the third level I'm not prepared to play it for 10+ hours.

[🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀]

Apr 17, 2022 8:13:24 GMT -5 Apollo Chungus said:

🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀 excelsior Actually, I never really clarified what I meant by "the norm". I wasn't referring to motion controls specifically (though that can happen with it), but the default state of inputs and responses that the game trains you to expect and understand. The norm in Wii Sports would be using the motion controls, or using the stylus for everything in the DS Zelda titles. It sucks that there aren't alternatives for some of these games, but every control input is unsuitable for somebody and that's just how games operate in general (I suck at mouse and keyboard even for really simple stuff).

My problem is when a game goes on for long enough that you feel comfortable with certain responses or inputs, and then suddenly throws a curveball by demanding you use a mechanic you're completely unfamiliar with or untrained for. Whether it's the gyro puzzle in Miracle Mask, the sudden shmup final boss in Fairune, or anything else - it's the gaming equivalent of taking a history class and suddenly having a Pythagorean math conundrum in your final exam that will heavily impact your score. It's pretty damn unfair against the player to throw such a curveball like that, and that's why I'm so damn disdainful towards the sudden introduction of out-of-nowhere mechanics or inputs with the expectation that "eh, you'll know what to do and we'll not give you any options".

I've definitely had moments where a game expects me to do something I didn't sign up for and that I didn't like. Gameplay styles very different from the main gameplay, or moments where puzzles or other slow sections break up the game unexpectedly. But then again, I don't want to enforce hard rules about how creative and/or wild a developer is allowed to get. If you solve a puzzle in Phantom Hourglass by closing the DS, you can look at it as stupid because it's the only time in the entire game, hell, probably the only time in the entire DS library, that you need to do that. But other people will think it's brilliant (me included - I thought it was really cool). I've played games where diversions have been great and where they have been a major source of irritation.

Now, blowing the mic to lift a platform in Captain Toad is obviously not 'brilliant', but I don't see the point in limiting what aspects of a console you're allowed to use or when to introduce mechanics. The mic is just as much part of the 3DS as the A button, even if the latter is used more. Blowing in the mic isn't that crazy, and it's introduced early in the game anyway. Obviously it sucks if your mic is broken or if you're unable to physically do that, but you can say that about anything. You're entitled to your opinion of course, but I don't see how this is such a game design sin, that's all.

[dsparil]

I agree in spirit about the microphone. Across the DS, Wii U and 3DS, it did get a fair bit of use as a control. For Apollo Chungus specifically, the 3DS seems to support microphones built into headphones so if you're using a pair with that, the system mic will be disabled.

Most of Cing's games on DS did similar very DS specific stuff. There's a puzzle in Trace Memory / Another Code that relies on the reflectiveness of the screen. Last Window has this really weird puzzle that uses a strange mostly closed but not actually asleep mode that I'm not even sure how they detected. In emulators, the Close Lid key has to have specially handling there.

[excelsior]

Yeah their Hotel Dusk Room 215 had a DS closing puzzle too which I thought was kind of neat.

I'm not really a fan of blowing myself (no comments windfisch). As a fellow 3DS XL owner especially it was never clear to me where the mic in the darn thing actually is which made it especially difficult when I was expected to blow Mario & Luigi (Dream Team Bros) last year. Although that particular game did a poor job with integrating these kind of play commands in particular. I think execution matters a lot, and perhaps with Captain Toad it's a little distracting and not really complimentary to the action based movement. Blowing involves moving your head and taking yourself out of the game for a split second I think, so it's use should be carefully considered.